Hemlock And The Wizard Tower (Book 1) (15 page)

…

Hemlock first became conscious of the humidity
in the air,
as she regained consciousness.  Her first attempts at movement were met with an implacable re
sistance and this jolted her mind to
full alertness.

She
sat
in a wicker chair and her eyes stung as sweat dripped down from her brow.  She
could
blink her eyes after some effort and then she was able to move her
eyes toward the figure of the r
eptilian Wizard
who had defeated her.  He
sat in a chair across from her and regarded her coolly.  She noted that he had disrobed and wore only a linen wrap around his waist.  His upper torso was fully scaled
,
but there were traces of human skin in his abdominal area.  She noted with surprise that the shoulder wound
that
she had inflicted
on him
looked mostly healed.  She could see a glistening salve had been applied to
the area of the wound
.

She quickly noted the contents of the room and the
fact that there was only a
sin
gle exit.  The room was large:
maybe
thirty to forty feet
across but irregularly shaped.  One wall was larger than the other and both were curved gently
,
like many rooms in the tower
that she had seen
.  There was a small artificial pond in one corner of the room and some ferns
and other plants surrounded it,
giving the room a quasi
–
outdoor feel.  In other areas there were bookshelves, an odd looking
wicker mattress, and a small
ornate marble
basin,
which rested
on a
raised dai
s.  The chairs
in which she and the Wizard sat were close to the dai
s.

"
So, you awaken.  We must continue the conversation that
I was trying to have with you before you
ra
shly decided to try and kill me," the
Wizard
stated matter
-
of
-
factly.

Hemlock struggled to move her jaw muscles
in response
and her tongue felt swollen and tingly.  Her body was still mostly numb.  An ache was growing in
side
her head near where the
Wizard
had struck her.

"
I was forced to immobilize you magically even after you lost consciousness.  I had to ensure that we could avoid detection and return to a safe location.  Unfortunately, we now have lost precious time that we should have used to prepare your escape.  Our escape route wi
ll now be much more perilous," c
ontinued the Wizard.

Hemlock cleared her throat and prepared to speak, but the Wizard continued.

"
My name is Gwineval.  As I stated before, I am an acquaintance of Safreon who I know to be your friend and ally.  If you recall, I had explained that he had contacted me magical
ly and advised me of your break-
in
tonight
.  Together we have p
lanned a means for your escape–
a plan which we can still execute
,
provided I have your cooperation.
"

"
N
…
Need proof
,"
Hemlock managed to reply feebly.

Gwineval considered this for a moment and then replied
,
"
I had anticipated that you might require proof
.
We wouldn't want you to
attack me again in transit to the rendezvous point.
"

"
I cannot give you absolute proof without risking detection from other
wizards
in the Tower.  The best I can do is show you part of a conversation that Safreon and I had earlier tonight concerning your entry into the Tower.
"

Gwineval stood and strode toward Hemlock.

Hemlock frantically tried to make her limbs move but was only able to generate a twitch in her arms.

"
You must learn
to discern friends from enemies," l
ectured Gwineval as he strode behind Hemlock’s chair, effortlessly lifted her by the armpits
,
and then carried her onto the
dais
, holding her near the marble
basin
.

Hemlock felt the telltale gathering of magical energy
;
energies
of divination and
recollection
.

Soon
murky images and distorted sounds began to become apparent in the waters of the
basin
. 
Then
she was able to see Safreon’s features and hear his voice speaking to an unknown entity
.  S
he only heard Safreon’s side of the conversation.

As she listened
,
it
became
clear that Safreon was bargaining for her escape with someone.  Safreon also mentioned something about a wand and she noted great reluctance in his demeanor as he did so.  What was the significance of this Wand of the Imperator?

Soon
the c
onversation ended and the image
faded.  Gwineval returned her to her seat and paced around the room as he spoke.

"
So now you have seen the proof.  I used this
basin of water
to communicate with Safreon.  The images reflected in the
water
linger for a time
after they are first shown and can be recalled
.  I was able to use that afterimage to show you
the conversation
.  Since my part of the conversation was directed to another location, I
was not able to reproduce that," h
e said.

"
What is the Wand of the Imperator?
"
Hemlock asked, her voice
beginning to return
to normal although
it was
still
sounding
a bit raspy.

Gwineval’s head turned sharply at that question and he did not respond immediately. 
Seeming like he had reached
some inner decision
then, he spoke:

"
The Imperator, as you may have heard through legend and folklore, ruled from the City in the Age prior to our own.  This was prior to the City Council
,
and the Imperator ruled with absolute power.
  He was a wizard, but his power soon eclipsed even that of the Wizard Guild, and he ruled independently of it," h
e explained.

"
Still, he was only one man, and although his magical skill was greater than any other man or woman in the land, there w
ere limits to what he could do; there were limits to
what information that he could be aware of and what actions he could take
throughout
the realm
of the City, and perhaps more importantly, outside of it
.
"

"
He decided to empower certain loyal advisors with part of his power so that he could better govern the land.  He spent seven years researching the best manner in which to grant this power to these individuals.  He wanted to do it in a way which would maximize their power but at the same time limit their ability to directly confront him in the event tha
t their loyalty faltered,"
Gwineval
continued.

"
In the end, seven Wands of the Imperator were created.  Each
granted the bearer great magical power by allowing them to boost the power of, or even make permanent, spells that they cast.  T
he Imperator protected himself against their power by building in
a weakness into the Wands: the magic
of the Wands
could no
t affect the wearer of a magical Crown, which the Imperator kept for himself
.
"

"
This was an effective system of rule and the Imperator and his
seven
Sub
–
Imperators lived for hundreds of years before even the great magic of the Imperator failed
.  O
ne day
,
the Imperator and each Sub
–
Imperator fell and crumbled to dust.
"

"
A period of great chaos and upheaval followed that event.  Much knowledge was lost and th
e few who had enough m
agical power to wield the Wands of the Imperator fought amongst themselves in great magical duels which shattered the
City.  E
ventually the Wands were lost.
"

"
So it seems that your friend Safreon has in his possession one of the greatest ma
gical artifacts ever known," Gwineval concluded.

Hemlock was astounded.

Could Safreon wield such a power without me knowing?
s
he wondered
to herself
.

She had never seen Safreon wie
ld power like that–
and she felt that if he
did indeed have a wand such as Gwineval had described,
that he would have used it to further
his
ambitions of thwarting evil acts in the
City
.

"
You do understand how unbelievable this all sounds?
"
Hemlock asked in a slow tone
, as she managed to speak normally for the first time
.

"
I do.  I
t is well nigh unbelievable to me as well, rest assured," r
eplied the reptilian Wizard.

"
I see
k to study and understand this W
and.  Safreon has promised me this in exchange for helping you to escape.  What we must do is to ascend to the top of the Tower where Safreon plans to meet us by some means.  Once there
,
he will
take you with him with my aid. 
I will suppress the defenses a
nd wards of the T
ower for
a time
while you escape.
"

Hemlock was able to move her fingers
now:
to wiggle them slowly.

Gwineval observed this and spoke in earnest.

"
Hemlock, you must trust me this time.  We cannot meet Safreon unless we work in concert.  You are
caught
in the middle
of a h
ornet’s nest and
won’t survive long without help. 
I am risking much in aiding you directly.
"

Hemlock considered everything that she had been told and though sh
e did not completely trust the w
izard Gwineval, she
had seen enough evidence to support his story that she now
believed that he was telling her the truth.
 
She also burned with the knowledge that she might yet fulfill her ambition to destroy whatever glowed in the night
at the top of the Wizard Tower–
and siphoned the magical energy from the Warrens.  She thought for a second about her sister and her suffering.

"
Gwineval, I trust you.  I apologize for attac
king you before hearing you out,"
Hemlock said in her best diplomatic tone.

Gwineval seemed satisfied
by her statement
and with a nod she regained full control of her body. 
She
grimaced
,
as the magical numbness had been masking the pain in her head where a large bruise had formed.

Noting her pain, Gwineval reached for an open jar
containing
a
salve
.  By its appearance, it was the same one that he
had used on his shoulder.

"
Let me apply this ointment
to ease your wound," h
e suggested.

…

"
I’m
fairly certain that Falignus is awar
e of your presence in the Tower,"
stated Gwineval.

Hemlock gazed at him through the hazy green glow of pure Oberon fluid through which they both traveled upward, slowly, encased in cylindrical bubbles of air
.
Gwineval had conjured
the person sized air pockets by reading from
a magic scroll.